Flu Myth Busting

Myth: The Flu jab gives you flu - Flu jab doesn’t cause flu: Because the injection contains inactivated or broken up virus, there is no way it can cause flu.  The injection can make you feel a bit headachy and cause local reactions as your body responds to the inactivated flu particles.

Myth: The Flu jab gives you a cold - Flu jab doesn’t cause colds – Colds are caused by a completely different virus – this isn’t involved in the flu jab at all.  But colds do peak around the same time, so if you have had a flu jab and then developed a cold the chances are the cold was already in your system.

Myth: The Flu jab vaccinates you against colds - Flu jab doesn’t prevent colds. Colds are a different virus and the flu jab doesn’t help your body to work against these.

Myth: You won’t get flu because you haven’t had it before - “I haven’t had flu before…” – which is great, but each year a different strain comes along and you have the same risk of catching ‘flu.

Myth: Getting your flu jab from a pharmacy costs the NHS money - Pharmacy flu jabs don’t cost the NHS more